A former South Otago sharemilker is on trial in the Dunedin District Court for allegedly burning down two large sheds on a dairy farm where he had been working.
The early morning fire at the Wharetoa property near Clydevale happened about five months after the man's sharemilking contract had been terminated.
The Crown says Neil Woodward (44), who had been sharemilking with his wife on the dairy farm until September 2013, was the person who set fire to the two sheds some time during the night of February 25, 2014.
Woodward, who is represented by Anne Stevens and Deborah Henderson, denies responsibility for the arson.
He also denies seven charges of threatening to kill people, including family members, the farm owner and his son and a man who saw Woodward assaulting the farmer's son at the Clydevale petrol station.
Crown counsel Craig Power told the jury the threats were made by Woodward when talking to two other inmates at the Otago Corrections Facility last year.
One of the inmates, machine operator Matthew Cadigan, told the court he shared a cell with Woodward for two to three weeks until about mid-August last year.
They would have spent about 20 hours a day together and talked about all kinds of things, including why they were in prison.
Cadigan described Woodward as being "like he was two people''.
Most of the time he was "good'', then suddenly he would switch. He often spoke about his wife and children and, when he had a bad day, would make threats against everyone.
He did not know what to think at first, Cadigan said, as he had heard "a lot of rubbish'' in the prison.
But after a while he felt he had to say something because there were childre involved.
To Mrs Stevens in cross-examination, he said he was "horrified'' at the violence Woodward was expressing.
That was why he decided to speak to the police.
He reported the matter to a Corrections officer and police later interviewed him.
Cadigan agreed he was on remand for serious violent offending, injuring and assault.
But he was motivated to speak out because of his concern for Woodward's family, he said.
The trial, before Judge Michael Crosbie and a jury of eight men and four women, began on Tuesday and continues today.
